A 26-year-old man has been arrested following an accidental shooting late Sunday afternoon that has a 5-year-old boy on a ventilator at a local hospital, police said.

The boy was hit in the left side of his forehead when the man’s 4-year-old son picked up a pellet gun left on the dining table and pulled the trigger, Wichita police Lt. Doug Nolte said. The victim’s mother took him to Via Christi Hospital on East Harry, and he was later transferred to the St. Francis campus.

The incident was reported to police at about 5 p.m. The pellet penetrated the boy’s skull, Nolte said.

He may be taken off the ventilator later on Monday because he is showing signs of being able to breath on his own, Nolte added.

The father of the shooter had been out hunting earlier Sunday before returning to the house in the 2300 block of East Winchester, Nolte said. That’s southeast of 63rd South and Hydraulic.

He left the pump-action pellet gun on the dining table, where his son was able to reach it.

“Initially, the family was hesitant to give us a clear story of what happened,” Nolte said.

The father was arrested on suspicion of offenses that include aggravated child endangerment and obstructing arrest.